Oct 20, 2016

Satellite Imagery Helps Verify ‘Zero Deforestation’ Commitments

Airbus Defence and Space, The Forest Trust (TFT) and SarVision developed the Starling service, which enables companies to provide evidence of how they’re implementing their No Deforestation commitments. Starling uses a combination of high-resolution optical satellite and radar imagery to provide unbiased monitoring of forest-cover change.

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After 14 months of development, Starling is now in operation, with Ferrero and Nestlé as pilot customers, and will be available to the market in early 2017.

“We believe Starling is revolutionary,” said Bastien Sachet, CEO of global environmental and social non-profit TFT. “Not only does this service provide a level of accuracy never before seen, thanks to a combination of 1.5-meter SPOT images and cloud-independent radar data, it also goes beyond the traditional concept of ‘auditing.’”

Until now, brands and producers relied on auditing houses to verify Zero Deforestation commitments, but auditors can’t get the overall view of the situation: they can’t access all forest areas, and are only spending a limited number of days in the field. Imagery from space provides extensive, impartial and cost-effective information in real time, including the ability to easily differentiate replanting from deforestation. It allows companies to manage their operations, make fully informed decisions and demonstrate to buyers and consumers that they’re true to their commitment.

“Most companies strive to do the right thing, and the aim of Starling is to give them the true capacity to do so,” said Bernhard Brenner, head of the Intelligence Business Cluster at Airbus Defence and Space. “Our constellation of satellites offers them a reliable tool to track and verify their actions and better protect the world’s resources.”